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Manipulating public opinion to gain the appearance of respectability

The tobacco industry has long employed strategies to build a positive reputation, and marketing actions have historically been used for this purpose.1 2 3 4 5 However, as studies demonstrating the negative impacts of smoking gained traction, legislation to restrict this type of activity began to be adopted worldwide. The Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (WHO FCTC) recommends, in its Article 13, that signatory countries ban all tobacco advertising, promotion, and sponsorship.6 In Brazil, advertising is prohibited, as are product placement and sponsorship of cultural or sports activities by the tobacco industry.7

Today, there is no doubt that smoking is a major risk factor for the leading noncommunicable diseases. In 2019 alone, more than 8.7 million people worldwide died from tobacco-related causes.8 Yet, despite all restrictions on advertising and the extensive body of scientific evidence against it, the industry continues to find ways to promote itself. How?

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), one of the main strategies used by the industry to manipulate public opinion and gain legitimacy is Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), that is, the development of initiatives with social and/or environmental impact, such as social programs for tobacco farmers, environmental campaigns, and educational activities. Far from being neutral, CSR actions are designed to influence public opinion and build social and political allies. “Each time a group accepts funding or works with the tobacco industry, it regains some of the respectability lost due to the social, economic, environmental, and health harms caused by its products,” explains the document Tobacco Industry Interference – A Global Brief, published by WHO in 2012.9

Examples of this are very common in southern Brazil, a region that concentrates a large share of the country’s tobacco leaf production. The Tobacco Industry Union (SindiTabaco) created the Crescer Legal Institute, whose stated mission is to combat child and adolescent labor in rural areas—a problem historically associated with tobacco farming. Despite the institute’s activities, there are no reports indicating a reduction in child labor as a result of the initiative. The Brazilian Tobacco Growers’ Association (Afubra)—which in theory represents farmers, but in practice takes positions aligned with the industry10 — implements the Green Is Life Program in schools across several municipalities to “develop socio-environmental education” and “promote environmental preservation,” despite tobacco farming being an activity with significant environmental impacts.11

Climate disasters and extreme events also provide opportunities for the industry to strengthen its ties with affected communities. After the floods that hit Rio Grande do Sul in 2024, both Philip Morris Brasil and BAT Brasil made donations to impacted municipalities.12 13 During the COVID-19 pandemic, both companies also donated money, as well as equipment, masks, and food to municipalities in southern Brazil.14 15 16 17 18 It is worth noting that, despite these actions, the companies did not commit to complying with health measures that would affect their production: in March 2020, a decree in Santa Cruz do Sul (RS) prohibited industrial activities that were not urgent or expressly authorized by the municipality, but the Philip Morris factory in the city did not stop operating.19

Companies also develop CSR initiatives outside producing regions. Philip Morris, for example, sponsored the Citizenship in Respect for LGBT+ Diversity Award in 2022,20 funded an activity in the official program of the São Paulo LGBT+ Pride Parade in 202421 and supported carnival groups linked to diversity in the same city the following year.22

Actions such as those described here can lead to social legitimization that tobacco companies would otherwise be unlikely to achieve. The tobacco industry uses CSR as a way to build alliances capable of influencing decision-making, thereby expanding its political capital.9

Moreover, CSR activities may be considered a form of sponsorship under the guidelines for the implementation of Article 13 of the WHO FCTC. For this reason, the guidelines recommend that Parties prohibit contributions from tobacco companies to any other entity for “socially responsible causes”—and that any publicity given to so-called “socially responsible” practices of the industry be banned, as it constitutes tobacco advertising and promotion.23 Brazil does not yet explicitly classify corporate social responsibility as a form of advertising or sponsorship. The country also lacks specific regulation to control or prohibit the public promotion of corporate social responsibility activities.24

Highlights 24 - Fiocruz on alert with Bill 5008/2023

29/05/2024

Highlights with topics considered important with the aim of promoting debates and decision-making in the field of tobacco control. In this edition, the agenda is about: updating legislation on electronic smoking devices (DEF) in Brazil. The Resolution of the Collegiate Board - RDC No. 855, of April 23, 2024, maintains the prohibition of manufacturing, importing, selling, distributing, storing, transporting and advertising these devices and other news about interference by the tobacco industry.

Referência

KORNALEWSKI, Alex Medeiros; CARVALHO, Alexandre Octavio Ribeiro de; BARATA, Danielle; HASSELMANN, Luis Guilherme; TURCI, Silvana Rubano. Destaques do Observatório sobre as Estratégias da Indústria do Tabaco. Cetab/Ensp/Fiocruz, Rio de Janeiro, maio, 2024. Acesso em: 29 maio 2024.

 

Highlights19

30/08/2023

Highlights with topics considered to be of note in order to promote debates and decision-making in the context of tobacco control. In this edition, the agenda deals with: the union of forces of institutions and civil society against the tobacco industry; reflections on the impact of smoking, with the example of Aracy Balabanian; political lobby of the tobacco industry and interference in printed and electronic newspapers such as Folha do Mate and Gazeta do Sul.

Referência

KORNALEWSKI, Alex Medeiros; CARVALHO, Alexandre Octavio Ribeiro de; BARATA, Danielle; HASSELMANN, Luis Guilherme; TURCI, Silvana Rubano. Destaques do Observatório sobre as Estratégias da Indústria do Tabaco. Cetab/Ensp/Fiocruz, Rio de Janeiro, jul. 2023. Acesso em: 30 ago. 2023.

 

Highlights18

31/07/2023

Highlights with topics considered to be of note in order to promote debates and decision-making in the context of tobacco control. In this edition, the agenda deals with: the Tobacco Industry's lobby for the Regulation of Electronic Smoking Devices (EDSs); tax reform: an important step for Public Health; a critical look at the tobacco industry and DEFs: a growing danger for passive smokers indoors.

Referência

KORNALEWSKI, Alex Medeiros; CARVALHO, Alexandre Octavio Ribeiro de; BARATA, Danielle; HASSELMANN, Luis Guilherme; TURCI, Silvana Rubano. Destaques do Observatório sobre as Estratégias da Indústria do Tabaco. Cetab/Ensp/Fiocruz, Rio de Janeiro, jul. 2023. Acesso em: 31 jul. 2023.

 

New Research Casts Further Doubt On Philip Morris International’s “Smoke-Free” IQOS Claims

02/08/2022

Researchers from the University of Nottingham have published a paper titled “Should IQOS Emissions Be Considered as Smoke and Harmful to Health? A Review of the Chemical Evidence.” The researchers conducted a literature review of studies examining emissions from heated tobacco products (HTPs).

Referência

https://exposetobacco.org/wp-content/uploads/IQOS-smoke-free-doubts.pdf

Fonte: https://exposetobacco.org/wp-content/uploads/IQOS-smoke-free-doubts.pdf

 

The two faces of the tobacco industry during the COVID-19 pandemic/As duas faces da indústria do tabaco durante a pandemia COVID-19

10/05/2020

As duas faces da indústria do tabaco durante a pandemia de COVID-19

Referência

 

KPMG. The project: the way forward.

No final dos anos 1990, a Philip Morris e a British American Tobacco (BAT)iniciaram uma série de encontros de engajamento com stakeholders como parte deuma campanha orquestrada para se reposicionarem como empresas fumageirasresponsáveis.

Referência

KPMG. The project: the way forward. British American Tobacco,Estados Unidos, 15 nov. 1999. Disponível em: http://legacy.library.ucsf.edu/tid/eyb04a99/pdf Acesso em: 27 jan. 2015.